THQ Assets Sale: Volition Inc To Be Sold; Ubisoft Could Be Potential Buyer

If you have been following the goings on in the gaming industry lately, you’ll know that THQ has been in trouble. By trouble, we don’t mean your average “disappointing release” trouble that every major publisher gets hit by every year. No, we mean full on, end of the company trouble. THQ has gone through many attempts at trying to save their sinking ship lately, including a 1-for-10 Reverse Stock Split so that they could stay on the NASDAQ, and more recently filing for bankruptcy.

Therefore, it is no surprise that they are going to have to start selling off their assets, if they want any chance of getting out of this, and if we want any chance of seeing any of their new games. With games like Company of Heroes 2, Saints Row 4 and Metro: Last Light in their catalogue, I don’t think that there is any doubt that we want to play these games. Luckily for us, it would appear that THQ has begun auctioning off the firsts of its studios and IPs.

After discovering this, I decided to dig deeper and try to find out more. This lead me to thesepictures uploaded by Senior VFX Artist Jeremy Kendall, with a tweet saying,

With #THQ getting sold today. We this @VolitionIncIt would appear that the men and women over at Volition Inc. are having a party, complete with bountiful amounts of booze and margarita mix to celebrate the sale.

While we do not know who is going to buy Volition Inc as of right now, it is looking more and more like French video game giant Ubisoft is looking to not only acquire Volition Inc., but also other THQ assets. Hunter (@DDInvesting) seems to have inside sources, and recently tweeted,

THQ: Sources indicate Ubisoft has emerged as a contending bidder for certain THQ assetsWe do not yet know if this source is reliable, and contending bidder does not mean that they will be the highest bidder, but Ubisoft do seem like the obvious choice for a THQ acquisition.

We will keep you updated as the story unfolds, and when we get more information regarding the auction.What does this mean for the other studios under THQ’s control? Only time with tell if we get an Ubisoft published Company of Heroes 2.

Plato and Aristotle, a detail of The School of Athens, a fresco by Raphael. Aristotle gestures to the earth, representing his belief in knowledge

As the THQ hearing ends — and their era goes with it — Koch Media has been declared the new owners of Volition Inc, and the publishing rights to the popular Metro franchise.The news was confirmed in the final letter sent to employees by THQ’s former CEO, Brian Farrell.What now?Of course, the German media behemoth may have gotten the studio, but Deep Silver could very well be the team working on future Metro titles, or even future Saints Row spinoffs. Right now, anything could happen.Deep Silver (most famously known for their popular RPG series, S.T.A.L.K.E.R.) is Koch Media’s video game label. Of course, they’re more recently known for their not-so-great titles (ones that I don’t plan to mention here).We await further news on Volition’s future, and the future of Metro. As with all pressing issues, we”ll keep you updated.EDIT 1: Following news of this, a massive uproar has been witnessed over at Twitter. A mulitude of tweets have been seen, describing the acquisition as generally terrible news.

We now have the answers we've been seeking through our financial restructuring and
Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction
that occurred:

Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business,
along with Clearlake's offer, and numerous offers for separate assets.
During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was
that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority
of the company.

Shortly, we will, present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must
concur with our assessment.

The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :
Sega agreed to purchase Relic
Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro
Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront
Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve [Nirolak's Note: Turtle Rock of Left 4 Dead fame's game] and
Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal [Nirolak's Note: Patrice's game and perhaps Volition Montreal] and South Park
We expect these sales to close this week.
[Nirolak's Note: Vigil didn't make it.]

Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other
intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of
the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.

What this means for employees

We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered
employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may
intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the
new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new
owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new
employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of
your employment with THQ.

If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that
your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be
employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient
resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting
these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this
transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to
minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next
steps in their careers.

We know you will have many questions about this news. We'll be meeting tomorrow
when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you
have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions
that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.

A personal note

The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative,
artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have
accomplished despite today's outcome.

It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company
will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will
continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain
intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be
operating as part of new organizations.

For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we
are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you
take the next steps in your career.

Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We
wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.

So nothing on WWE?? i guess this goes back to WWE then lol since im hearing nobody picked it up!!

The license for WWE is unsold as is Relic and some other stuff. Those remaining things may be sold off later or just closed. If the WWE license isn't sold then I believe it reverts back to the WWE and they can resell it.

While THQ & WWE try to sort out this $45million debt its looks like nothing is being updated about that whole story leading it from anything leaking to who has picked the game up something seems to blocking it!!

while im hearing Take Two/2K have picked up WWE im also hearing EA seem to have already picked it up b4 even the Sales started but it doesnt seem to be, nothing more than a rumour tbh an EA isnt wrestlings strong point (WCW) for instance! the whole story doesnt fit right now! unless theres a solid update or lead who got the rights to WWE is a little hard for those who has it!

We’ve seen it coming, for weeks we’ve seen it coming. After filing for bankruptcy protection and rumors of anxious buyers stepping up to the plate bubbled to the surface, former game publishing giant THQ is officially no more. Its assets, including games and studios, are being sold off individually to interested publishers across the industry. Many of these were picked up for a fraction of their worth, some for even less. Some companies were even left out to dry in the mess of it all, with many now unemployed.
For clarity’s sake, let’s break it all down.

In a letter to THQ employees, THQ bosses Brian Farrell and Jason Rubin detailed the proposed sales of many of the company’s assets. Pending an approval with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, this is where THQ’s major game development studios (and their respective games) will fall under:

Sega agreed to purchase Relic Entertainment (Company of Heroes)

Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition (Saints Row) and Metro

Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront

Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve

Ubisoft agreed to purchase THQ Montreal and South Park: The Stick of Truth

Vigil Games, the studio behind the Darksiders franchise, is not on this list because it, along with other THQ assets like its publishing business, is not currently involved in any sales agreements with interested publishers. As of now, its developers are out of work. This is confirmed by a handful of designersspeaking out on Twitter.
Reports are also trickling in that claim game franchises de Blob and Destroy All Humans are also not currently up for any sale agreements, and they remain a piece of THQ’s bankruptcy case. The letter does not confirm the sales of these titles, nor has anyone from THQ or an interested publisher, so it’s reasonable to assume these reports are well-founded.

A series of tweets from Distressed Debt Investing has posted results of the THQ auction, citing that the following transactions went down:

Joystiq has reportedly obtained the sales figures resulting from the sale of THQ’s intellectual properties, licenses and studios. Here are the winning bids for each asset, followed by the runner-up bid:

We’ll come back with more numbers when we receive them.
Yes. As with most layoff occurrences these days, many are popping up via social networks like Twitter, with former THQ employees notifying their followers of their now-unemployment status. Game Informerhas done a solid job rounding up the initial bursts of alerts, which you can check out in full here.
Addressed fully in THQ’s executive letter to its employees below this post, the company was very brief in its alerting of now-unemployed workers. Here’s an excerpt:

“If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has

sufficient resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contactingthese employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next steps in their careers.”

“For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we
are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you
take the next steps in your career.”

You can use the #THQ hashtag on Twitter to follow updates from ex-employees as well as others helping them search for new industry positions. Since there’s no solid number for us to give you right now, we’ll stick to our guns with the hashtag and deliver a solid layoff number when/if we get one.

Brian Farrell, Chief Executive Officer, and Jason Rubin, President, sent out a kind but straightforward letter to their employees, which was passed along to the media shortly afterward to help shed light on THQ’s crumbling. Here it is, in its entirety, for context and clarity:

To All THQ Employees:
We now have the answers we’ve been seeking through our financial restructuring and
Chapter 11 case. While much will be written, here are the facts of the bids and auction
that occurred t:

Yesterday morning, we received a competing bid for the operating business,
along with Clearlake’s offer, and numerous offers for separate assets.

During an auction process that lasted over 22 hours, the final conclusion was

that the separate-asset bids would net more than a single buyer for the majority
of the company.

Shortly, we will, present the results to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which must
concur with our assessment.

The proposed sales of multiple assets is as follows :

Sega agreed to purchase Relic

Koch Media agreed to purchase Volition and Metro

Crytek agreed to purchase Homefront

Take 2 agreed purchase Evolve and

Ubisoft agreed to purchase Montreal and South Park

We expect these sales to close this week.
Some assets, including our publishing businesses and Vigil, along with some other
intellectual properties are not included in the sale agreements. They will remain part of

the Chapter 11 case. We will make every effort to find appropriate buyers, if possible.
What this means for employees

We expect that most employees of the entities included in the sale will be offered
employment by the new owners. However, we cannot say what these owners may
intend, and there will likely be some positions that will not be needed under the

new ownership. You should receive notice this week or early next week if the new
owners intend to extend employment to you. Please note that the terms of your new
employment, including pay and benefits, may be different from the current terms of
your employment with THQ.

If you are an employee of an entity that is not included in the sale, we regret that
your position will end. A small number of our headquarters staff will continue to be
employed by THQ beyond January 25 to assist with the transition. THQ has sufficient

resources to pay these employees for work going forward, and we will be contacting
these employees immediately to ensure their continued employment during this
transition period. We are requesting the ability to offer certain severance pay to
minimize disruption for employees of non-included entities as they determine the next

steps in their careers.
We know you will have many questions about this news. We’ll be meeting tomorrow
when we return to talk through this announcement and to answer any questions you
have. You will receive a benefits fact sheet and FAQs with answers to some questions
that may be on your mind. Please review these materials closely.

A personal note
The work that you all have done as part of the THQ family is imaginative, creative,
artistic and highly valued by our loyal gamers. We are proud of what we have
accomplished despite today’s outcome.

It has been our privilege to work alongside the entire THQ team. While the company
will cease to exist, we are heartened that the majority of our studios and games will
continue under new ownership. We were hoping that the entire company would remain

intact, but we expect to hear good news from each of the separate entities that will be
operating as part of new organizations.
For those THQ employees who are part of entities that are not included in the sale, we
are confident that the talent you have displayed as part of THQ will be recognized as you
take the next steps in your career.
Thank you all for your dedication and for sharing your talent with the THQ team. We
wish you the best of luck and hope you will keep in touch.
Sincerely,
Brian Farrell
Chief Executive Officer
Jason Rubin
President

For now, this is what we know of THQ and its properties. We’ll update this article more when we learn more, but know that our thoughts go out to those affected by the layoffs.

so it's done and now, we just have to see what happens to the series's that have been sold

Crytek got a hell of a deal on Homefront 2. THQ already funded 14 million dollars for it. Crytek was still owed 1 million that won't be paid the. They bought the game for half a million. Now they aren't just outsourced developers. They own the whole thing and essentially got paid 14 out of 15 million dollars of the development cost of their own game. They know the code and can take control and run the project their way.

I think we'll find out what's going to happen to all these games in the coming months, but it seems like they are all in really good hands. Hopefully not too many employees at these studios will lose their jobs in the process and we'll see bigger, better games with more financial support.

The era of THQ wrestling games is over. Sources have indicated to IGN that the WWE game franchise will be sold to Take Two, parent company of 2K. Terms of the sale are unknown at this time, as details have not been finalized. These negotiations appear to have taken place outside THQ's formal auction process.

This actually doesn't surprise me. There are a lot of game developers around the world and I knew it was just a matter of time until some of them would falter and ultimately close up shop. It's just a reality. A sad reality. But, there is something to learn from all this. I think that to be successful, not only do developers need to produce games that are fun, innovative in some way albeit only fractionally at times, graphically awesome, awesome gameplay, but the operations of the companies should also be considered. What am I talking about you say? Change the structures of the companies from the conventional capitalist point of view to a worker cooperative and restructure the pay scales so that the presidents, CEOs, managers, etc., don't make a huge percentage more than say a programmer or level designer. And the, each company should invert in green energy technologies that over time will result in free energy. It can be done.

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